


Coming Shyly, Hiding Loudly

by larryhaylik



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Dom/sub, Dubious Consent, Light Bondage, M/M, Mpreg, Porn With Plot, READ NOTES, talk of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 20:38:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11471238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larryhaylik/pseuds/larryhaylik
Summary: Tony wanted back the times when running out of scotch was the worst thing he could imagine.He wanted, Tony thought as he took off to launch attack from above, back the times when a glowing golf ball wasn't sitting in the middle of his chest, when intergalactic wars were only a thing in Hollywood movies, and when drinking himself into oblivion and an (even greater) public indecency didn't affect a bunch of people other than himself.They fought a battle, Steve got himself into a bit of a mess and it affected Tony's life a bit more than expected.





	Coming Shyly, Hiding Loudly

**Author's Note:**

> Read end-notes for dub-con & Mpreg tag explanations.

"Tony!" 

"That is Miss Romanoff, Sir," JARVIS supplied as Tony successfully rid the world of the last piece of this week's horror. Tony started calling them Smallballs in his head because when those suckers got hit by his repulsor, they burst into tiny white metallic balls, making the street one big April Fool's prank.

"Being a pain even after death," Tone said cheerfully, taking off in the direction of Natasha's yell. "I think I just found a new aspiration in life."

"Although I am positively bursting with happiness for your new step in self-discovery," Steve's voice came through the comm, "if you could take the next step in the direction of Jupiter Street, that would be-," rustling, several blows and a grunt, "-amazing." 

"On my way, Cap," Tony said, steering slightly to the left.

The second of radio silence was nearly deafening. Then Steve asked: "Did you just take an order?"

Tony snorted as he landed next to Natasha, giving Steve a dirty look despite the fact that Steve couldn't see it through the suit's helmet. Whatever. The Avengers had been basically Tony's roommates for long enough to anticipate most of his facial expressions. "Don't get your hopes up, Capsicle. Unless we get this behind closed door, I shall not be taking orders from you," Tony said with a suggestive smirk. Which Steve still couldn't see. "The only reason I'm here is that I heard a damsel in distress."

The look Natasha gave him was so unimpressed Tony made a mental note to ask her how she did it. It was a talent he had spent years perfecting and the fact that she outdid him so effortlessly bugged him.

He didn't have time to think about it too much, though, because suddenly there were at least sixty more Smallballs and they were all coming their way.

Tony wanted back the times when running out of scotch was the worst thing he could imagine.

He wanted, Tony thought as he took off to launch attack from above, back the times when a glowing golf ball wasn't sitting in the middle of his chest, when intergalactic wars were only a thing in Hollywood movies, and when drinking himself into oblivion and an (even greater) public indecency didn't affect a bunch of people other than himself. 

Steve broke down several other Smallballs, Natasha spun around and singlehandedly took out another couple, arrows started whooshing around and hitting, which meant Clint finally arrived.

A bunch of people, no less, who could take Tony down with their little toe when he wasn't in his suit.

It took them a solid hour to send every attacker on their way to Hell, leaving the streets of Atlanta looking and acting like a trap. Tony laughed himself nearly hoarse when Steve actually slipped on those tiny metallic balls. Steve just grunted in pain since he rubbed the pellet-like Smallball remains into an open wound and Tony would feel sorry for him, but the Captain muttered a quiet "little shit" as he gathered himself back up and it sounded so out of place coming from him Tony went into a fit of giggles.

A second later, Tony was lying on his back, suit or not, and it was Clint who must have torn something laughing.

They made it back to the Stark Tower, tired and hungry, just in time to be caught and whisked away by Coulson. Tony spared the building a longing glance before the car door slammed shut behind him. The report meeting wasn't half as quick as Tony would have liked and when they got to the Stark Tower - again - they were even more tired and even more hungry. Which could only lead and of course led to ordering a mountain of takeout from their favourite place. (Okay, Tony's favourite place, but it was the most brilliant thing in the world, right.) Tony was actually pretty sure the Avengers' orders were the only thing keeping the business alive.

They were basically doing a good thing, Tony told himself as he munched another serving of fried rice and spicy chicken. 

Clint was sprawled all over one sofa, nursing his beer and occasionally patting his full belly while Natasha sat like a normal person next to him, lap full of paper cartons. Tony was just about to ask where their one and only Captain America disappeared to when the door clicked and the man himself walked in, eyes closed nearly all the way, and Tony was about 86% positive Steve made his way here based half on sight and half on smell. 

Scratch that, Tony thought as Steve pretty much stumbled over a pillow lying on the floor but without missing a beat picked up his order. It's 100% positive.

To Tony's mild surprise, Steve collapsed on the sofa next to him and made himself comfortable slightly closer to Tony than was strictly usual. Steve's head was bent back, laying on the headrest, and Tony just began wondering how Steve planned to eat when Steve lifted the box to his mouth and literally let the food roll straight in. Clint made a disgusted sound while Natasha gave another of her unimpressed stares. Tony let out an 'ugh' and Steve opened his eyes, giving Tony _a look_. 

_A look_ , because this slightly too intense staring was way out of the normal level of Steve-Tony interaction, as was the syrupy slow not-so-innocent blindingly white smile that appeared on Steve's face a second later. Tony's abdomen tightened.

"Something you wanted to say?" Steve asked and there was a purring undertone to his voice and from the corner of his eye, Tony saw Natasha raise an eyebrow. Which was as involved as she ever got even in the most terrible things. Which meant they should all be worried.

"Oh, you know, just that there has been this wonderful invention some time back, you might have heard of it," Tony said, eyeing Steve, half wary, half intrigued. "They call it a fork." 

Steve snorted a little and sat up, suddenly three inches taller than Tony, and stretched out to take a fork from the table top. His shirt rode up a little and Tony was presented with a sliver of deliciously pale skin that made his pulse jump just so. He looked up to find Steve smirking and he knew it wasn't an accident.

Hypothetically speaking, Tony might have been flattered a little. Just a bit. Because who wouldn't enjoy a little flirty attention from a specimen such as Steve?

Then there was the other side of things where he had no idea what the hell was going on. 

So Tony smiled, gulped nervously, and tried to write it all off as side-effects of exhaustion.

 

The next day, Steve slept until noon and when he emerged out of his room, he looked just as fine and dandy as he always did and Tony let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. It was one of relief and, just a tiny bit, disappointment.

 

Steve's hand was squeezing Tony's shoulder in a way that should have been painful but then again, the way Steve was kissing Tony should have been painful too, so why was Tony moaning?

Tony didn't know how it happened, okay. He had just finished some tinkering in his workshop and was about to make himself a cup of coffee when Steve strode into the kitchen, pulled Tony's head back and kissed him instead of replying with a 'hello' like normal people did when greeted.

But Steve wasn't normal people and Tony groaned as Steve's hand wound itself around his waist and lifted him easily up onto the kitchen counter, making Tony almost, _almost_ , level with Steve. It only made it hotter, the fact that Steve was so undeniably stronger, capable of manhandling Tony around like a puppet if he wanted to. Tony groaned again and wrapped his legs around Steve's middle, pulling him in to rub their bodies together.

Before you start judging, Tony had considered the situation before he dove in head first. Or, more truthfully, he had considered considering it, but then Steve bit down on his lip, tugged, and Tony decided he could do some considering later.

Steve's fingers gripped the back of Tony's neck, forcing him to crane his head even more up and holy mother of God, it gave Steve yet more control over the kiss and Tony was sure he was slowly melting into a puddle as Steve's tongue licked insistently into his mouth. Tony lifted his hand up and was about to lay it on Steve's neck, just to find some solid ground beneath his metaphorical feet, but Steve's fingers caught his wrist before he even had a solid chance, and pushed it behind Tony's back. Tony could only moan his approval.

"Is this the army commander peeking out?" Tony asked, breathless.

"If I was commanding, we would be doing something very different right now," Steve growled and caught Tony's other wrist, holding them both in one hand and pushing just enough so that Tony had to pull his shoulders back. 

"Oh?" Tony had a chance to breathe out before Steve had his mouth again, measured and composed and perfect, and Tony would give a whole damn lot to know how this came to happen because he wanted this every day, twice at least.

"Mhm," Steve hummed as he pulled away, leaning down to bite at Tony's neck. "It would be a nicely tied rope around your wrists instead of my fingers," Tony moaned and Steve smiled into his skin before he bit again, "you'd by lying on a bed with all that delicious skin on display and I would have you over and over again until you were so full and so tired you'd fall asleep, dirty and bruised and still tied."

"I want that. All of that. Do it," Tony said, voice deep, and the not-so-surprising thing was, he really fucking did. Of course Tony knew what he liked. Had known for some time. Someone bigger and stronger to hold him down, someone authoritative enough to be able to deal with Tony's bullshit and attitude because, well, because Tony liked to have the control taken away from him for just a little time. 

So Tony was a bit of a sub. Sue him.

Make no mistake, Tony would strip the skin and meat off of anyone's bones with wit and sarcasm and maybe a little help from the Iron Man suit where necessary if they tried to boss him around in any other aspect of his life. But for this specific thing... Tony pulled Steve in with his legs to feel the hardness of him against his own, bending his head down to rub his cheek along Steve's, begging for another kiss. Instead of complying, Steve pulled away, a dangerous smile playing on his lips.

"I know you do. I just wonder," Steve murmured, letting go of Tony's hands to slide his palms up and down Tony's thighs, before settling them low on Tony's hips, rubbing circles on the sensitive skin of his hipbones, "how much does it take for you to stop demanding things that you are in no position to demand." At Tony's shudder, Steve gripped below Tony's ass and lifted him up, ignoring Tony's squeak and the way his legs tightened around Steve's waist.

Tony's head spun around, his body flushing hot all over, and he didn't know what to think first. At one point in his life, Tony had had a whole plan designed for when he met Captain America and got him into his bed (even Tony had been fourteen and dreaming once, alright), but it all fell away in the face of this- _this_. Thoughts crashed around in his brain with speed one would expect from a genius mind; why was Steve like this, since when was he capable of being like this, why would he pick Tony if he needed to get off, how did he even know that Tony was into this sort of thing and more, so much more.

Tony didn't let go of Steve as he lowered him down onto Steve's bed, keeping him close and pressing against Tony's hard dick.

 

Steve fucked Tony six ways to Sunday, left him just as dirty and tired as he said he would, and Tony fell asleep with Steve's come leaking from his hole, Steve's fingers brushing against Tony's sensitive opening and pushing gently in an attempt to keep the come in. When Tony woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was Steve in the bathroom, humming something that suspiciously resembled the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan, and Tony had a chance to smirk before he fell back asleep.

 

Tony wasn't all that sure what it was he and Cap had going on. They saw each other several times a day and acted like they always did, only sometimes Steve would lay a hand on the small of Tony's back or run his fingers through Tony's hair, and Tony had no idea what make of that.

Neither did the other occupants of the Stark Tower, especially Tasha, whose curious looks followed Tony around every time after Steve had touched him. Clint didn't seem to be invested in the details of their status all that much; to the best of Tony's knowledge, he just wanted some new information to gossip about from time to time, because in his heart of hearts, Clint was a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl. Thor hadn't been around for at least two months and Bruce left New York to do something of great importance in south-east Asia or somewhere, so Tony didn't need to think about those two, and Coulson... well, Coulson wasn't in the tower all that often, but Tony was positive he knew something was up, simply because it was both Coulson's job and secret superpower to know everything.

Anyway, back to the point. Tony had tried to talk to Steve about what they were doing together. After all, Tony wasn't a blank canvas when it came to sub/dom relations and he felt like discussing limits and dos and don'ts was reasonable given their turbulent pasts. So he had found Steve. Within thirty seconds of their conversation, Tony had nearly lost it because it became quite obvious that Steve was, contrary to Tony, a blank canvas, the purest cleanest whitest canvas ever, and had no idea which term meant what, staring at Tony uncomprehendingly as he explained he liked bondage and painplay, even a bit of breathplay, but watersports were absolutely off limits.

Tony had left the room having bookmarked several internet pages that were now Steve's required reading and with an indescribable feeling that he was getting himself into a very stupid position by trusting Steve, despite the fact that Steve knew nearly nothing about being a dominant in a sexual way, to take care of him the way Tony needed to be taken care of.

Like, sure, Steve knew how to order. He was in the army, for Christ's sake, and led a whole group to many successful missions. And he had a lot more common sense than people usually did, plus he was reliable, and responsibility was practically his second name. Tony still had doubts. And despite them, he continued doing what they were doing without objections.

 

Steve ran possessive hands up and down Tony's body, biting and scratching at the exposed skin until it was covered in red and Tony was trembling beneath him.

"Your hands," Steve said silkily and Tony's wrists were up and in Steve's hold before Tony even made a conscious effort to move them. Tony groaned internally. It had been so long since his mind just slipped and stopped waiting for reasonable thoughts to tell him what to do; then Steve happened and Tony could just... let go for a moment. Steve stretched Tony's arms up, the movement bringing his face closer to Tony's.

"You will keep them there." There wasn't even a hint of command in Steve's voice, like he automatically assumed Tony would listen. And for all the sarcastic replies that were swimming in Tony's mind at that moment, he didn't use a single one of them, because he wanted to. He wanted to keep his hands up, he wanted to leave his body open and vulnerable to whatever Steve felt like doing, and Steve must have seen that in Tony's face because a second later, he leaned even closer and murmured: "Good boy."

Tony whimpered a little and surged up to line up their mouths. Steve let him for a few seconds before he pulled away and Tony whimpered again, tempted to simply follow Steve up and make him kiss Tony some more because Tony already missed the way Steve tasted. Steve tsked disapprovingly when he saw the slight tensing in Tony's muscles and Tony stayed put. 

Steve said to keep his arms where they were. Sitting up would go against that. So Tony wouldn't do that.

Steve gave Tony a little smile, one that would be considered innocent if Steve's eyes weren't burning like fire across Tony's body.

"You are going to let me touch you," Steve's voice cut through Tony's mind, sharp and clear. Tony's sight focused and he realised that he had been staring absentmindedly this whole time. A blush spread across cheeks and Steve smirked. "You are going to let me touch you, finger you until you're loose and then fuck you. And then..." Steve smiled teasingly and Tony's blood raced through his veins, "then I'm going to come into you, fill you up, make you wet like a girl and fuck you again."

Tony moaned, his fingers closing into fists and then opening again. The warmth of Steve's body disappeared for a moment and when he came back, there was lube grasped in his hand. Tony distantly wondered how Steve had found out what lube was and what other things he could have encountered while searching for it.

Steve's palms skidded down Tony's body, sliding lightly across his hard cock and then between Tony's legs, pulling them harshly apart. Steve only used a fraction of his strength, but Tony groaned anyway at the power he could feel behind the gesture. It reminded him once more that Steve could decide to have Tony in any position and any way he wanted and Tony would be powerless to stop him. 

(Technically speaking, JARVIS would very probably save Tony's ass - pun intended - if Tony so much as uttered a word. But Tony was pretty sure he would not need saving.)

Something cool and wet touched Tony's balls and pressed onto his taint, sparking a wave of arousal that went to the tips of Tony's fingers. His eyes focused again and found Steve watching him intently. Tony couldn't do much else but stare back. A fingertip traced Tony's hole and Tony's hips canted upwards in a blatantly wanton gesture.

A slightly manic expression flashed across Steve's features as he pushed the first finger all the way in and Tony moaned at the stretch. The burn felt extraordinary and Tony wanted more of it, wanted it now.

"More, Steve," Tony breathed out and Steve had a look on his face that said he was seriously considering not obeying Tony's wish, but then Tony added a tentative "Please?" and Steve's face crumpled and confusion took over.

"What-" Steve began, pulling away, and Tony whined high in his throat, but a second later the hungry look was back on Steve's face and he squirmed a second finger into Tony's ass

Tony gave a pained groan. It was too much too soon but he couldn't bring himself to care. His cock leaked pre-come on his belly, slicking it up, and Steve was moving his fingers deftly, quickly and efficiently, obviously aiming for just getting Tony loose enough to fuck and Tony hundred percent supported that. Fingering was nice, true, but Steve fucking him was about a thousand times nicer and Tony urged Steve to get on with it with a low whine.

"Still so demanding, aren't you," Steve said, forcing his fingers apart to stretch Tony further. Tony whined in pain and his back arched in pleasure. "Still thinking you're in the driver's seat for this one. Your only luck is that today I don't feel like taking you apart slowly, but one of these days," Steve leaned forward, mouth hovering above Tony's dick, his lips brushing against the sensitive skin with every word he said, "I'm going to tie you up properly and play with you for hours." His eyes were fastened on Tony's face and Tony couldn't even blink. His heart was racing below the arc reactor like it hadn't for a long time and Tony wanted nothing more than for Steve to hold true to his word.

Tony's hips moved in time with Steve's fingers, clenching down on them just to feel him inside and to show Steve that he could move things forward, but Steve was watching him with seemingly oblivious eyes and Tony wasn't given his mouth just to keep it shut.

"Steve," Tony said, voice so rough it surprised him.

"You sound like you just choked on my cock," Steve observed matter-of-factly and it made Tony blush again. "You would like that, wouldn't you? Me forcing my cock far enough to make you choke and splutter, gasp for breath when I come down your throat."

Tony moaned in approval, because he really, really would like that, and Steve whispered: "So beautiful," before he pulled his fingers out with a dirty sound. Tony felt the silky tip of Steve's dick pressing against his opening and that was all the warning he got before Steve pushed himself inside, slow but steady. Tony squirmed a little at the intrusion; it made him itch all over and want to accommodate it or get rid of it. 

And since there was no way Tony was getting rid of Steve's cock inside him, he willed his muscles to relax and accept even as Steve was already moving, snapping his hips forward with force that made Tony feel like he was being torn apart at the seams. Contrary to when he was fingering Tony, now Steve was making a conscious effort to put pressure on Tony's prostate and it made Tony gasp and moan, his cock leaking more pre-come onto his stomach.

"Look at you," Steve panted, gripping hard at Tony's hips and Tony was positive he would have a nice set of Steve-shaped bruises to remember this by tomorrow. The idea made his breath hitch and his cock jump. "So beautiful, moaning so sweetly for me."

Tony nodded and moaned some more. He wanted to feel more of Steve's skin, but his hands were still out of question, so he centred his weight to his back and lifted his legs to wrap them around Steve's waist.

Steve growled and let go of Tony's waist to grip tightly on his thighs, forcing them back down onto the bed, spreading Tony further, opening him up.

Tony let out a harsh breath, as if punched in the stomach, his cock jumping at the blatant display of power and Tony could feel himself edging towards orgasm. 

"Steve," he began, his voice trembling with arousal nearly as much as the bed was trembling with the force of Steve's thrusts. "I'm gon-"

Steve froze in the middle of a movement and Tony whimpered pitifully.

"You are not allowed to come until I do," Steve said steadily, his hands leaving Tony's thighs to clasp at his hips to stop him from pushing himself on Steve's cock. "Do you _understand_?"

Tony stared at Steve for several long seconds and then nodded.

"Words, Tony. I want to hear you say it."

"I am not allowed to come," Tony whispered, shuddering as his ass tightened involuntarily around Steve, "until you do."

"Good boy," Steve smiled crookedly, letting go of Tony's waist to brace his hands above Tony's head. With his height and build, Steve covered all of Tony and then some, and Tony couldn't help but lick at Steve's chest. He expected Steve to reprimand him, but he didn't. Instead, Steve thrust in again and Tony gasped at the suddenness.

The problem with Steve was, the man had stamina that Tony simply didn't possess. Steve fucked Tony, and fucked and fucked and fucked, and although he seemed affected, he didn't look like he was about to come.

Tony, on the other hand, was letting out an unbroken string of needy whimpers and whines, his body pulled taut and so ready for release Tony was sure a single touch would undo him and he couldn't anymore.

"Steve, please," Tony said pleadingly, "please."

"No," Steve answered simply and hit on Tony's prostate again. It made Tony hiss half in pleasure, half in pain, as the sensation built up in his groin.

"Please, Steve," Tony begged. Begged, because what else what he supposed to do? He needed to come. But he didn't want to disappoint Steve. So begging for permission it was. "Please, please, please,..." Tony repeated and he didn't stop, not when Steve gave a particularly harsh thrust, not when Steve tried to tell him 'no' again, not when Steve's fingernails dug into his waist, not when Steve shuddered and came.

"Please, please, please, please," Tony continued, lost in his head and the sensation of Steve's come warming up his insides and slowly trickling out when Steve pulled out and what was he pleading for again? "Please, please, please..."

"Tony, listen to me, sweetheart." And that was Steve's voice, Tony knew that much and he opened his eyes, surprised to find them wet. 

"It's okay." Steve stroked the side of Tony's face and Tony turned his head into the touch, closing his eyes again. He felt Steve's hand closing around his cock, sliding smoothly with the help of Tony's pre-come. He gasped.

"Please, please, please," Tony whispered, his hips lifting up to fuck into Steve's hand.

Steve's other hand tightened in Tony's hair and Steve pulled his head back. "Go ahead," Steve said gently, mashing their lips together in a half-kiss. Tony choked out a single sob before he came, silently, but hard enough to make his vision go white. 

When Tony gathered himself, he found Steve sitting on his heels between Tony's spread legs, touching gingerly where his come was leaking out of Tony. Tony hummed in content at the soft attention, then hissed in oversensitivity when Steve slid his fingers inside. Tony looked up into Steve's face to find him grinning widely, dangerously.

"I told you," Steve said, pushing in harder, and Tony whimpered. "I'll fuck you, make you wet...," his fingertip grazed Tony's prostate, making him squirm, "and then fuck you again."

 

A week later, Tony was sitting in his workshop tinkering with the fingers of his suit, trying to make the movements smoother, finer. Over the Black Sabbath blasting from the speakers, he didn't hear the door open and wasn't aware of anyone else being in until he turned around to bring up some older project and face-planted into Steve's chest.

Looking up - no, literally, we're talking craning-your-neck-so-much-it-hurts up - Tony found Steve smiling bemusedly. And it made his heart trip.

If you asked the media why they pegged Tony Stark as a playboy (the nicer magazines) and manwhore (the more straightforward ones), they would probably tell you something along the lines of _Well, because he is_. If you asked Tony Stark why the media pegged Tony Stark as a playboy and manwhore, he would tell you he didn't know and give you a free pass into the promo section of Stark Industries with a note that says _Show them the post-starlet sale statistics_.

That and - let's be honest here - the thrill and simple joy of the chase and catch more than made up for the revulsion-filled looks from some people Tony had grown used to; just like he had grown used to being wanted and in the centre of attention. 

But he wasn't used to _this_ , this weird trippy-fluttery feeling inside his chest that made his insides tighten when Steve was near.

Tony was familiar with the implications and it didn't take his genius mind long to catch up on what was going on.

It didn't make the fact any easier to accommodate to.

"Can I speak in normal volume or should I raise my voice so you can hear me down there?" Steve teased from the heights and Tony blushed like he hadn't in years. 

"I'll be alright, you don't need to tire yourself, old man," Tony mumbled as he took a step back and composed himself. When Tony wasn't in his suit, Steve was simply towering over him in ways that made Tony feel things that would take up at least 1.3% of his hard drive if he recorded them. 

Meaning there was a shitton of them.

Steve snorted and took a step closer, efficiently taking away the space Tony had put between them. 

"I came to ask a question," Steve said and Tony's throat went dry when the warmth Steve's body radiated became palpable even though they weren't exactly touching.

 _Yet_ , Tony's brain supplied and Tony groaned inwardly.

"Yeah?" Tony said, his breath hitching a little and Steve smiled as he leaned down, not unlike the way he had during the take-out session after the Smallballs. It made Tony feel trapped in the best way possible and his stomach was doing that fluttery thing again.

"Perhaps," Steve said, running his nose along Tony's cheekbone, his breath warm on the skin of Tony's neck, "you would like to have dinner with me?"

Tony's heartbeat tripped and he pushed Steve away a little to see him in the face. Steve was staring at him with soft eyes and an even softer smile, and did Tony say fluttery feeling? Because that might've been an understatement. A little like calling Pepper 'organised'.

See, Tony wasn't one for... _dating_. He had his work, he had his friends, he had JARVIS, there had been a few disastrous attempts at an actual relationship Tony would rather not speak about, and after Pepper and he decided to break things off, he hadn't made any conscious effort to find himself a significant other and 'settle down'.

But the funny thing about Steve was, Tony felt like the two of them could actually be good for each other. They had things in common (like Avenging and cars), they had things of their own (like Steve's art and Tony's technology), they pushed each other's buttons while not pushing too hard, and the sex was phenomenal.

Tony was nothing if not a logical person. He had the data right there in front of him, the equation simple and the outcome clear.

"Yeah, sure," Tony shrugged, watching Steve's face light up.

"Amazing. Tomorrow at seven?" Steve asked, stepping close to Tony again.

"Works perfectly." Tony reached up to wrap his fingers around Steve's neck, bringing him down for a kiss. He loved it when his equations worked.

 

They went for dinner. Steve had knocked on Tony's door at seven o'clock sharp, they had taken a short drive to an old-looking restaurant in Brooklyn that probably stood there back when Steve was a kid and which served the best cherry pie Tony had ever eaten. They had laughed and talked, Tony had got Steve into a string of stories from the times of the Howling Commandoes and Steve did his best to understand Tony as he explained how touchscreens worked. 

For just a few seconds during the desert, Steve looked completely lost. Mouth hanging slightly open, eyebrows bunched together, it seemed like he didn't even know how he got there. The 'Are you okay?' was ready on Tony's tongue when Steve snapped out of it and with a brilliant smile asked about satellite navigation.

When they arrived back to the tower, very content and just a little sleepy, Tony wondered whether Steve would be going into his own room for the night. He didn't need to worry. Steve made a beeline into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water, then he took Tony's hand again - because they were on that level now - and carried on to Tony's room, setting the glass on the left bedside table; Tony always slept on the right.

They stripped down, took a shower together and went to bed, completely comfortable and so domesticated it scared Tony. Then Steve wrapped an arm around his waist and plastered himself along Tony's back and all thought disappeared. 

Tony sighed and cuddled in deeper. The last thing he remembered was Steve pressing a single kiss into his hair.

 

It became a thing, the two of them sleeping together. Every evening when Tony stepped into his bedroom (or whenever Tony decided that nights were for sleeping), he would find Steve either already on what was now his side of the bed, or in the bathroom, brushing his teeth with a toothbrush that had become as natural an occurrence as Tony's own.

They would slip beneath the sheets, sometimes Tony cuddled up against Steve's back but mostly Steve wrapping Tony in his arms, one palm resting on Tony's belly, and fall asleep breathing in the same rhythm (as JARVIS somewhat slyly informed Tony one Wednesday afternoon). Tony would wake up feeling a touch too warm, safe, and completely content. And sometimes, when he woke up before Steve did, Tony watched Steve's calm features and tried not to get consumed by the tight feeling in his chest.

 

Steve's fingers appeared on Tony's skin again, tracing a line from the middle of his forehead, down his nose and across his lips. Tony's mouth fell open as Steve thumbed on his bottom lip, tugging it to the side and then letting it spring back. Something flashed in Steve's eyes, white like lightning, and he pinched harshly. Tony let out a low surprised moan, blood throbbing in his lip. Steve slid the pad of his thumb across the hurt place in a manner that should have been soothing but only served to make Tony's skin burn brighter.

Steve carried on, lightly circling Tony's neck, smiling sharply when he felt Tony gulp, down to the hollow of Tony's throat and then with his nail drawing a line straight down to where the arch reactor rested. Tony felt a little zap, like electricity surging, and Steve gave Tony a questioning look, but Tony designed the reactor; he knew that couldn't have been it, so he didn't worry. Tony's dick was hard and leaking and there was little in the world that was capable of making him stand to attention right now.

Steve's fingers brushed against the tip of Tony's dick and Tony moaned low in his throat. It had been way too long a wait.

"Steve, please," Tony said quietly, eyes glued on Steve's face.

"Not yet," Steve murmured and leaned down, taking one of Tony's nipples into his mouth, pushing against it with his tongue and then let it go, watching as it hardened when the coolness of the room hit it. "I'm taking my time with you tonight."

"Tell me?" Tony asked quietly, watching Steve's hands move along his body, raising goosebumps.

"Oh, it's nothing elaborate," Steve said, smirking. "I will simply do my best to wind you up as high as you will go. And then some."

Tony, whose mind reeled and promptly came up with many possibilities and scenarios, shuddered and sighed. Steve trailed kisses down Tony's sternum, gentle in comparison with the fingernails that were digging into Tony's thighs, and when he got to Tony's dick, he kissed down it, too, making Tony squirm. One lubed up finger traced the cleft of Tony's ass, dipping in just a tiny bit, like a promise, and Tony let out a quivering breath.

"You are already halfway there, aren't you?" Steve asked, looking up. The tip of his finger traced circles around Tony's opening, teasing and slow, then he dipped in, barely to the first knuckle, not even past the initial tight ring of muscle. He wasn't in but he wasn't out, either, and it drove Tony wild, his hips bucking to make it one of the two.

"I wish you could see yourself, already so desperate for it," Steve carried on, his eyes fastened on Tony's flushed face. He drew his hand back just a millimetre and then in again, moving in such minute movements Tony wasn't completely sure if he moved at all, if Tony's brain was maybe just playing tricks on him. In a split second, quicker than Tony could register, two of Steve's fingers were suddenly in him, the stretch burning along with the suddenness of it, and Tony yelped in surprise and pleasure, his hips hitching upwards. Steve smiled.

"I bet you could come just now," Steve whispered, dragging his fingers out just a bit and pressing them in hard, so that his knuckles pressed harshly against Tony's ass, as if he was trying to push through Tony. Tony's heart was beating fast in his chest, little droplets of sweat forming on his skin. "Just look. _Look_ ," Steve growled when Tony didn't tear his eyes from Steve's face.

Slowly, Tony lowered his gaze to the mess he had made of himself, belly wet with pre-come, his dick hard and ruddy, his hips moving into Steve's hands; Tony didn't even realise he was doing that. Steve thrust in with three fingers and Tony saw his cock jump and leak a little to add to what was already there. Tony's head fell back and his mouth opened. Within a second, Steve was holding his chin, his thumb slipping inside Tony's mouth and Tony's lips closed around him, sucking, eyes set firmly on Steve's face.

"So beautiful," Steve whispered, dragging the thumb out and spreading the spit on Tony's lips, making them wet and shiny. He drew back before Tony had a chance to suck him in again.

Steve wrapped his hand around Tony's dick, giving it a tug that had Tony lifting his hips well off the pillow that supported him, his mouth open once more, his breathing fast and erratic. The tension in his body was starting to drip over the edges and Tony wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. 

"Please, Steve, can I-" Tony began but just in that moment Steve leaned down and took Tony's cock into his mouth, enveloping him in wet warmth, and Tony's toes curled. Drawing back with an audible pop, Steve sat on his heels, watching Tony with darkened, contemplating eyes.

"No," Steve said after a minute and his fingertips stroked gently over Tony's prostate. Tony half-groaned from pleasure and half-sobbed at being denied when his body craved the release like a drying plant craved water and a drowning man craved air. Another _please_ tumbled from his lips.

"You are not desperate enough," Steve murmured into the crease of Tony's thigh, taking a deep breath as if soaking up Tony's smell. 

How could he get any more desperate, Tony's mind wondered frantically, he was already on the brink of sanity. Another wave of pleasure crashed through him when Steve's hand started moving again, pressing onto Tony's walls. The world was getting dimmer as the pleasure got brighter, more urgent, and Tony didn't know what to do. His vision was swimming, his fists clenching on nothing and he was distantly aware of his throat working and producing sounds he wasn't able to comprehend.

"Let it wash over you," Steve whispered, his fingers slipping out of Tony, clasping firmly on Tony's hips instead, and Tony thought Steve must have been talking about the pleasure, about letting it do what it was supposed to do without giving it control over his body. Tony wasn't sure he could do that, especially when Steve leaned back to stroke himself once before he pushed into Tony.

Tony cried out, his muscles tensing and bunching as the kind of pleasure suddenly changed, more alive, warmer, and he could feel the fullness when Steve bottomed out. Emotion after emotion crashed through him, too much sensation and not enough of it.

"Cry for me," Steve mumbled as he drew his lips across Tony's temple, wiping away a tear Tony wasn't aware of. There was just too much to be aware of and his dick was straining, sliding against Steve's abdomen, creating friction that hurt so good Tony shivered and something in him just gave.

"Please, Steve, please, I need to come," Tony said brokenly, voice tight and rough at the same time. He needed to. He needed. "Please let me come, please, I was so good, I was, please."

Steve smiled like something went absolutely according to the plan and started moving inside Tony in long, deliberate thrusts, pulling out so much the head of his cock tugged at Tony's rim before he slammed back in, making Tony feel like he was about to vibrate out of his skin.

"You can come," Steve said and Tony gave a sob of relief, "but you do it untouched." Tony whined at that. He could, he knew he could, but it would take so long. "And don't expect me to slow down once you come," Steve continued, his thrusts sharp and pointed, "I'll just carry on fucking you like the willing loose body you are."

Tony moaned loudly at the words, his eyes falling shut. It made the sensations more pronounced and his hearing sharpened, the slap of skin on skin suddenly ringing in his ears ten times louder.

"Can you even hear yourself, God," Steve's voice cut through the air, but Tony's eyes stayed closed. "You sound like a whore. I bet you don't even care if it's me fucking you, bet you'd let anyone claim you, fill you up."

Tony shook his head because no, he wouldn't let anyone do it, he had Steve taking care of him, he had Steve touching him and that was more than he deserved anyway, it was more than he could wish for. He wanted Steve to fill him up, to mark him, to come inside him.

"So sweet," Steve said and Tony realised he was talking out loud. He couldn't flush any further so he turned his head to the side, trying to hide in the sheets. Steve hit his prostate head on and Tony's back arched off the bed, a low moan escaping his throat, and he was so, so close, but there was something missing, something essential he needed, but he couldn't figure out what. A desperate mewl escaped his lips.

"Oh, don't you worry, sweetheart," Steve said and that was better, Steve talking was better, it took Tony closer to getting the release he craved, but Steve wasn't saying the right thing, there was something, something-

Steve's hand closed around Tony's wrists and he leaned down to whisper into Tony's ear.

"I can see it on your face, the way you want it, the way you need it, God, just look at you," Steve murmured, his lips brushing against the shell of Tony's ear, making him shiver. "So beautiful under my hands, with my cock inside you, just about to fill you with come-"

Tony gave a hoarse scream as he came, his cock spitting out hot white fluid, while the whole of Tony's body sagged with the release, and his mind was in a different headspace again.

"-and maybe, just maybe, it will be good enough to get you pregnant, get your belly swollen with child," Steve carried on and usually Tony would stop short at that but this was not the time. Although Steve clearly meant it, the tone of his voice when he said it, Tony couldn't wrap his head around it.

Tony was half disappointed and half relieved when Steve came with a shudder and a soft cry. Steve laid motionless atop Tony for a while, his breathing harsh and his cheeks flushed bright red. More red than usual, Tony observed sleepily when Steve lifted his head to smile at Tony and then got up and into the bathroom.

Tony's body was exhausted and oversensitive, so it was no wonder that he jerked when a cool object pressed against his hole. Steve gently tapped over the abused skin with a wet flannel and then wiped the mess that was Tony's belly. Setting the cloth aside, Steve settled between Tony's legs again and watched with an alight fascination as his come slowly trickled out of Tony. He dragged his fingers through it several times and Tony hummed happily. Or at least he thought he did. There were clouds of sleepiness slung over his mind and he was losing sense of his surroundings quickly. The world fell away and Steve's arms wrapping themselves around Tony's middle was the thing that waved Tony into darkness.

 

"Morning."

"Jesus!" Tony yelped, spinning around to face a very tired-looking Doctor Banner, nearly dropping his freshly made cup of coffee. JARVIS should be warning him about people arriving, dammit! "Bruce, good to see you! Aren't you supposed to be somewhere in south Chechnya doing some super-secret doc job?"

"South Czechia, and yes, I was," Bruce answered, taking off his glasses to polish them with the corner of his shirt. Tony scoffed internally, because Bruce didn't accept the scratch-proof glasses he had made him, claiming they made his vision unnaturally sharp (which, duh, is what glasses are for, right?) and the shirt Bruce was wearing would surely leave some unwanted lines.

"What brought you back?" Tony investigated, sitting down on a bar stool, the cup cradled in his palms.

"SHIELD. Their labs found something odd in the remains of the Atlanta attack, Coulson said." Putting his glasses back on, Bruce slipped around Tony to open the fridge.

"Atlanta?" Tony repeated, his brow creasing. "You mean the things that broke down to little balls?"

"I think so," Bruce said, lifting a lid off some box and studying its contents. Deciding it was to his liking, he popped it into the microwave and turned back to Tony. "You don't exactly get many alien visitors who do that."

"Guess not. What did they find?" The coffee in Tony's mug was disappearing way too quickly and Tony's belly grumbled. He might have got lost in his work for a day (or three); eating wasn't on his list of priorities, much to JARVIS's dislike.

"They are dissolvable in organic liquids. Bodily fluids, to be precise."

"So when you spit on them, they dissolve?" Tony asked, bewildered.

"Exactly. It works with everything else, they say - blood, urine, lymph, stomach acids, even sperm. If the report was on point." One of Bruce's eyebrows lifted slightly as if he wasn't sure whether to believe that.

"What's so odd about that?" Tony said. "They wouldn't bring you back just because the stuff is dissolvable."

"No, they wouldn't," Bruce sighed. The microwave timer went off and Bruce pulled out the steaming box with one hand, the other rummaging through the drawer for a fork. "The first problem is that the material seems to be aware of what's human fluid and what's not. They tested it with different kinds of animals, but nothing worked." He sat down across the aisle from Tony and dug into what looked and smelled like Thai noodles.

"The second problem? I assume there's more than one," Tony pressed, curious. Bruce nodded.

"When dissolved, the material releases some sort of a chemical that causes a reaction unfamiliar to our equations. The lab thinks it might interfere with hormones-producing centres in the human body, maybe expanding the production, or perhaps creating new compounds entirely." Bruce started eating in the earnest now that he seemed to be done talking and Tony nursed the sad remains of his coffee, lost in thought.

"They don't know for sure, though, do they?"

"No," Bruce shook his head, "they are not desperate enough to inject a living person to examine the real reaction."

"Yeah," Tony said absentmindedly. Something in his brain was sending off warning red lights, but he couldn't figure out why. With a sigh, Tony got up, poured himself another cup, clapped Bruce on the back and made his way back to his workshop. He could worry about red lights when he finished the voice emotion JARVIS upgrade.

 

This night was different.

Not bad different, not good different; just less heated, less desperate. There wasn't the usual mad burn in Steve's eyes and Tony's skin didn't feel like it was catching flame.

As Steve continued switching between gentle soft caresses and sharp bites, Tony's mind slowly but surely slipped into another headspace, one where his body responded before his brain had a chance to evaluate and calculate like it usually did, one where his skin was tuned to Steve's touches to finely Tony could feel everything down to his bones. A distant corner of his mind muttered words like _insensible_ and _foolish_ and _you'll get hurt_ , but Tony didn't care, couldn't care. Not when Steve was lifting Tony's hips and sliding a pillow below them.

Tony's eyes followed Steve' movements with soft interest, a curious sort of attention a child would watch an animal life documentary with; fascinated, silently waiting for what was coming next.

Steve pushed Tony's legs apart, settling on his elbows between them, and Tony's dick twitched in anticipation although his thoughts were solely focused on letting Steve do what he pleased regardless of how Tony felt about it. This wasn't about Tony; it was about Steve.

Steve's fingers pulled Tony's cheek apart and for a moment, the world came to a standstill. All Tony could feel was Steve's steady breath against his exposed hole and the way Steve's fingernails were digging into his flesh. Then Steve licked tentatively along the sensitive skin and the world started spinning again. Tony moaned softly, his fingers curling into fists on the bedsheets. It had been so long since somebody had done this for him.

Steve's tongue was pointed, wet, pressing gently on Tony's entrance, sending little spikes of sensation through Tony's body, and Tony's brain felt like- like it wasn't even there in the first place. Like all those genius cells had taken a break and turned their phones off and all Tony was left with was this quiet calm nothingness of simply being.

Steve pressed the tip of one finger inside Tony, barely any stretch, and pulled down, opening Tony to his tongue. He licked in and Tony shuddered at the wave of warmth. His dick was hard against his belly, but it might as well have been the year Shakespeare was born in for all that Tony cared about it right now.

Right now, Tony felt safe and protected, opened at Steve's hands and not expected to do anything but enjoy the soft prodding that made his heartbeat flutter.

Tony wasn't sure how long they spent like that, Tony floating happily as Steve ate him out, apparently content. All he knew was that at some point, Steve pulled away to whisper: "Touch yourself," and leaned back in while Tony somehow processed the words and managed to prepare his hand for movement. The first touch on his dick felt like being kicked by electricity - something Tony was personally familiar with and could safely compare - and he moaned. He didn't realise how close to coming he was. 

Steve pushed in with two fingers, no resistance at all, and as his fingers grazed on Tony's prostate, he made an affirmative, encouraging noise and Tony came, back arching up as if someone has drawn the orgasm out of him. Tony supposed someone did.

Panting, Tony blinked in surprise when Steve suddenly appeared in his line of vision, face barely an inch from his own. Tony watched as Steve's eyes flashed before he bent down to join their lips together. Distantly, Tony was aware of Steve's hand moving, jerking off, and he would much like to do something to help, but all his muscles turned to marshmallow. Steve's breathing got harsher and then stopped for a second and Tony felt as Steve's warm come fell across his still loose hole. Tony made a soft sound as Steve bit on his lip and tugged.

They stayed still for a moment. Then Steve's muscles worked and he lifted himself off Tony, settling between his spread legs, palms sliding smoothly down Tony's sweat-damp skin. Tony wasn't surprised when Steve fingers found Tony's hole and rubbed at the mess Steve left there, pushing the come in.

"Why do you always do that?" Tony asked quietly, voice cracking several times.

Steve looked up, confusion clear on his face. "Because I want a child?"

They stared at each other for a moment. Tony's brain cells were still mostly off and the ones present weren't at all sure what to make of that statement. So Tony blinked, closed his eyes, and let Steve's gentle touches lull him to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, Steve safely wrapped around him, he was ninety percent convinced that he dreamt the conversation up and promptly buried it underneath the piles of computer code and Iron Man upgrades.

 

"Sir, Doctor Banner has just arrived from the SHIELD headquarters and requests a moment with you," JARVIS said quietly. Tony was holding a red hot piece of metal in pincers, mid-turn towards the suit's disintegrated gauntlet, and JARVIS was thank God programmed well enough to know not to startle him right now.

"Tell him to come in and keep quiet," Tony whispered, eyes never leaving his work as he gently fitted the tiny component into the thumb. Distantly, he was aware of the door sliding open and closed as Bruce walked in, instead focusing on connecting all the right microwires. Tony didn't know how long it took for him to be satisfied, but Bruce was still there when he looked up.

"Bruce. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Tony asked and motioned for Bruce to come properly in. The scientist quite obviously wasn't sure whether he could take a look around. Which. Weird, considering how long it had been since Bruce moved in, and expected, because Bruce shared Tony's perspective on digging through someone else's workspace.

That's a no-no, in case you weren't sure.

"I know you don't like SHIELD-"

"What are you saying, I love them."

Bruce lifted one eyebrow and Tony kept his face as straight as he could. Bruce carried on.

"They asked me to pass on a request. They'd like you to have a look at the EO1A-"

"At what?"

"- Extraterrestrial Object 1 - Atlanta, I would have explained if you gave me a chance. The stuff I was called back here for."

"Why do they request me?" Tony mused. "I am, in my humble opinion-" Bruce's mouth twitched which was about as good as if he snorted "- the best mechanical engineer you could possibly find, but I am no match for you when it comes to organic materials."

"You're right, but it doesn't exactly apply to our situation. You said it yourself, the remains are metallic and the scans say it's some kind of a releasing mechanism. We're getting nowhere with the chemical reaction - SHIELD is still not willing to subject anyone to the testing. Personally, I think they will not get anywhere without it, but they want to try a different approach. So they requested you to inspect the casing."

"Fair enough," Tony said. "When do they want me? Hang on, stupid question," Tony stopped Bruce answering, "as soon as possible. As per usual." Bruce nodded.

"So-"

Tony was interrupted by a shrill noise of the alarm. Both he and Bruce braced themselves for an immediate attack, although the back of Tony's mind patiently reminded him that his workshop was the safest place in the whole tower apart from the underground emergency facility.

"What's that?" Bruce asked, eyes raking across the room.

"JARVIS?" Tony called out.

"Sorry, sir. It seems like the protective field on the roof has been breached while simultaneously the camera system for the Avengers floor malfunctioned."

"What? Why? Is everyone safe?"

"All of the Avengers currently in the tower are completely unharmed. To the best of my knowledge, we experienced the effects of a strong electromagnetic field with limited areal impact."

Bruce and Tony looked at each other.

"The surveillance works again, sir," JARVIS said, sounding relieved; almost like a person who thought they went partially blind discovering everything was alright after all. "There seems to be a sign burnt into the carpet on the Avengers' floor."

"Show me, buddy. Big screen," Tony said, waiting for the holographics to appear. When they did, Tony's eyebrows scrunched at the circular shape filled with signs.

"Run diagnost-"

"I don't think that will be necessary," Bruce interrupted and Tony jumped. He had kind of forgotten Bruce was still in the room. "It's Thor."

"Thor? JARVIS, is Thor in the building?"

"No, sir," the AI answered and Tony looked questioningly at Bruce.

"If it's not Thor himself, then he just left a message. I've seen the patterns his arrival caused last time. It's definitely him."

"I can confirm that theory, sir," JARVIS said. "There is a scroll in the middle of the burn."

"Okay," Tony said, closing the holographic and turning to Bruce. "Let's go see what vacation destination Thor is writing from. And for the love of God, JARVIS, turn off the alarm."

 

The message was indeed from Thor. All it said was: "Do not despair, my fellow warriors, for I am on my way." What that was supposed to mean nobody could tell. Clint helpfully pinned it on the kitchen board next to the postcard Steve sent last year from his trip to London. It wasn't every day that you got post from a different universe.

 

Steve was frustrated.

It had been two weeks since Thor's message, thirteen days since Tony's visit to the SHIELD labs to inspect the Extraterrestrial Object 1 - Atlanta (no luck there), eight days since the Avengers' last mission (one woman in Bolivia tried to re-make the Hulk, which, well, never a good idea), and three days since Pepper came _this_ close to quite literally kicking Tony's ass for missing yet another board meeting (her legs were totally long enough and those heels would very probably hurt). Apart from those happenings, Steve and Tony had also managed to spend some quality time together, mostly between the sheets (but that breakfast picnic on the roof had been nice as well), and Tony could tell Steve was for whatever reason growing more and more frustrated with every day that had passed.

He wanted to ask, okay. He honestly cared about what Steve and he had. And God hadn't given him those speech skills for nothing; Tony could be very articulate about his needs and interests when he felt like it. The problem was, it really isn't easy to say anything sensible when Steve's fucking you. With all that pent-up, unspoken-of frustration.

Let's just say Tony was decidedly not in a state fit for a conversation.

Steve grasped Tony's hips and pulled him closer, stretching Tony out as far as he would go with wrists bound to the headboard. Tony groaned, letting his head fall down to rest his forehead on the sweat-soaked bedsheet, and blinked his eyes open. All he could see was his dick straining against his belly and Steve's legs between his own, kneeling on the bed. Tony watched as Steve's thighs tensed, moved back and slammed in, sending another wave of sensation through Tony's body.

Tony moaned and closed his eyes again, letting everything wash over him. Steve moved more... sharply, more decisively than he usually did, like he was trying to prove something and once more, Tony really wanted to ask. Say that whatever it was, Tony could surely help.

"Is- are you-"

Steve raked his fingernails down Tony's back, Tony bowed like a cat and let out a mewl. It hurt so good he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Yes?" Steve's voice had an edge that made Tony shiver all over, a predatory undertone that made Tony's survival instincts tingle.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked, breath hitching at each of Steve' thrusts.

Steve pulled out entirely and Tony had just enough time to whimper in pain and surprise as he was flipped over, the rope around his wrists pulling tighter. A second later, Steve was sliding back in, his features hard and a mad spark in his eyes that would have triggered Tony if it was anyone else fucking him. But Steve had had this look on his face way too many times when they were together and by now, Tony had kind of grown used to it. 

Which probably should've been alarming. But whatever.

"I-just-don't-get-it," Steve growled, hips slapping harshly against Tony's thighs with every word he said. "Why is it not working?"

Tony's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"It's definitely working," Tony said at a particularly hard thrust, his back arching off the bed. Steve's rhythm faltered and Tony looked up just in time to see Steve's eyes widen a little as he lifted one hand and lay the palm on Tony's belly. Then his eyebrows drew up as if he expected to feel something else there than the precome; his expression grew thunderous and Tony's breath hitched in his throat. And not in a good way.

"Why are you lying to me?" Steve hissed, grabbing one of Tony's thighs and lifting it up to make movement easier. His eyes seemed to flash white as he repeated the question, his fingers digging into the skin. "Why are you lying?"

"Steve," Tony gasped at the pain from what would by tomorrow morning surely be a nice set of dark blue imprints of Steve's fingers. "I'm not- I don't-"

"It's been two months," Steve growled, "two months, and I don't get it, why are you not-"

Tony held his breath in expectation. He could sense the answer was near.

"-why are you not pregnant yet, it doesn't-make- _sense_!" The last words were accentuated by harsh thrusts that hit directly on Tony's prostate. Usually, it would have made him come.

Usually, people were not telling him they expected him to be pregnant.

"What?" Tony asked, struck nearly speechless. Steve continued fucking into him, seemingly oblivious towards Tony's sudden but nonetheless obvious lack of participation.

"You should be with a child by now!" Steve said and it almost sounded like a whine. Tony's brain still wasn't processing properly.

"Steve. I am a man," Tony said bluntly. He felt like sprinkling his words with the typical healthy dose of sarcasm wouldn't be a good idea.

"What does it matter?" Steve asked rhetorically and Tony was pretty sure he would be picking his jaw up from the floor for at least an hour. That's how hard it dropped.

Nearly as hard as Steve's thrusts were by now. He was getting close, Tony could see that. It did nothing for him anymore. His attention was simply somewhere else and physical stimulation was not relevant.

"Has nobody ever given you the birds and the bees talk?" Tony asked, observing carefully Steve's face.

"I hardly see how that's applicable to us since we're neither," Steve grunted, burying himself deep as he came, gripping almost painfully at Tony's waist.

"That's a euphemism," Tony said, exasperated. "I am a man, Steve, I can't get pregnant."

"Nonsense," Steve mumbled into Tony's chest where his head had fallen after his orgasm.

Tony blinked in astonishment. Or shock, maybe.

"How is that nonsen-" 

"Sir, we have a visitor," JARVIS said unexpectedly. Steve's eyes turned to the door automatically because, despite his progressing adaptation to technology, he was still expecting to see a man there who said those words.

"Who?" asked Tony immediately, already tugging on his bound wrists. Steve reached up to untangle the knot.

"Thor, Sir. He is in the lounge on the Avengers' floor in full fighting armour, possibly expecting an attack."

"What?" Tony said, feet already on the ground and carrying him towards the clothes drawers. Were they under attack?

"Are we under attack?"

"I have just asked, Sir, and it seems he thinks we have hostile visitors from the space," JARVIS answered, sounding confused. Tony had done a great job on that voice-emotion update.

"Do we?" Jumping from leg to leg, Tony shimmied on a pair of jeans. Steve was watching him from the bed, eyes half-lidded and a little sad.

"I have checked all satellites, state services and social media feeds. Everything is in normal."

"Interesting," Tony mumbled as he pulled a t-shirt over his head. Then he turned to face Steve. "Are you not coming?"

"Already have," Steve murmured and Tony stood shell-shocked for a moment because Steve didn't know how to snark. He _didn't_.

"Have I infected you with sarcasm?" Tony asked, eyebrow arched.

"You're rubbing off on me." Steve's eyes twinkled and he looked nothing like the crazed man from ten minutes ago. He looked soft and sleepy and completely edible, and Tony didn't know what was happening in here, but he was going to find out sooner or later.

"I'm gonna go talk to Thor," Tony said, eyeing Steve suspiciously. "When I come back, we're having a conversation. There are obviously some things that need to be cleared up."

 

"Man of Iron!" Thor exclaimed loudly, a wide smile on his face as he clapped Tony on the shoulder in greeting while the other hand gripped Mjolnir. "You are in no danger now!"

"I wasn't aware we were in the first place." Tony was trying his hardest not to rub the place where Thor's palm had landed. The guy obviously still hadn't completely grasped the frailty of human body.

"You were not?" Thor's eyebrows drew together. "But that is troubling! Have your tricks not warned you?"

Tony grimaced slightly. "If by 'tricks' you mean technology, then no, no alarms and panicking for us." And he grimaced again, feeling Steve's come slowly making its way out of him. Tony was sure his jeans would not betray anything, but come on, this really wasn't the time.

"Then I am raising the alarm!" Thor bellowed and Tony winced. "Blow the horns and call your brave friends to do justice to their name, for you are being invaded!"

"Who's invading what?" Clint's voice came from the door.

"Archer!" Thor hollered, smiling again. "It is of great comfort to me that you are by our side in this time of peril!"

Clint glanced at Tony in question. Tony shrugged.

"Thor. We were not expecting you." Turning around, Tony watched as Agent Phil Coulson stepped through the doorway, and shook his head. Of course SHIELD already knew Thor had arrived.

"It seems like I am not the only one. A word has gotten to me that the Kamarti are planning an attack on Earth, in fact, that they have already begun." Thor took a look around as if he expected an alien to pop out of the drinks cabinet.

"Well," Tony said, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot as a drop of wetness slid down his inner thigh. "I'm sorry to inform you - or glad, really - that there are no signs of any such thing."

"Impossible," Thor said self-assuredly, switching the hammer from one hand to the other. "When the Asgardian scouts say the Earth is being taken over, then there is no doubting their words."

"When exactly has this message reached you?" Phil asked, all serious business as per usual. 

"I cannot recall the exact date, son of Coul," Thor replied easily, "but it has not been long ago."

"What can you tell us about those- Kamarti, was it?"

"That is right," Thor nodded, "the Kamarti inhabit a small planet made of metal-like material. The beings themselves are, at their core, made of it, although they might not look it at the first sight - it is only when one manages to kill them that their true nature can be grasped."

"What happens when you kill them?" Clint asked.

"They break into treacherous pieces one is bound to slip at. To you, they might look akin to-"

"-like little balls?" Tony finished for him.

"Exactly!" Thor exclaimed. "So you have met them! They are here! Take me to them immediately so we can rid this world of them!"

"Eh," Tony said, giving a sideways glance to Clint, whose incredulous look mirrored Tony's thoughts. "That was, like, solid three months ago, Thor. Those bad boys are long gone."

"We got rid of them. Wasn't that hard," Clint supplied.

To Tony's surprise, Thor's face was - for once - horrified. He strode forward and grasped Clint by the shoulders. "Are you sure you have destroyed everything? Every dangerous piece?"

"Wow, slow down, big guy," Tony held his hands up, "what do you mean, dangerous?"

"It is how the Kamarti gain power in worlds," Thor turned his face to Tony, letting go of the slightly shaken Clint. A trained superspy he might be, but getting mauled by a demigod was bound to get you distraught. "When killed, they become spheres and enter the bodies of the natives where they take root and change who that person is - they become possessive, obsessed with a certain person and crazed about offspring, for the Kamarti part will get passed on when the possessed reproduces. It is, admittedly, a slow process, but a sure one."

Taking a deep breath, Thor walked to the window.

Tony's brain worked and when Tony's brain worked, things were about to happen.

Mostly, his cells were preoccupied with the fact that the - the symptoms Thor had described sounded familiar. Sounded so fucking familiar and if Tony had been a less composed man, he would have probably had to sit down. And he would have probably put his head into his hands.

And maybe shed a tear or two because he believed, he _believed_ , that what Steve and he had was something, well, not special, that's not a word Tony would use-

Fuck it, yes, Tony thought it was special. 

That Steve genuinely cared for Tony, like Tony came to care about Steve, that the time spent together actually meant something.

And now Tony just sounded like a chick flick, didn't he?

Tony gulped. The possessiveness, the marks, all the come Steve left inside him, the talk about children a mere half an hour ago. It all fit.

But how did Steve get infected? How did it-

Clint laughed quietly at something Phil told him and it flashed before Tony's eyes as if it happened just yesterday. Clint had laughed because Tony had slipped on the Smallballs remains because he had been laughing at Steve who had slipped - he had slipped and there was an open wound and the silvery stuff, he had rubbed it right in.

But maybe... after all, Steve wasn't exactly normal, was he? Maybe it was just him, no- no alien mojo-

"Tony?" Clint asked in a tone that suggested it wasn't the first nor the second time he said it.

"Yes?" 

"Are you-" Clint gave Tony a once-over and then let it go. "Phil and I are gonna go to SHIELD and get it sorted out. You stay here and tell the others?"

"Yes, no problem," Tony smiled in a way that felt unnatural even to him. Phil eyed him suspiciously but a moment later both he and Clint vacated the premises. Tony waited for a few more seconds to make sure they were really gone before he turned to Thor so abruptly the Asgardian jerked back a little.

"How does it work?" Tony blurted out. "How does it affect the body, how does it affect the mind, is the person still aware of what they're doing, do they-"

"Metal man!" Thor held up his palms in mock surrender to stop the waterfall of words. "I can tell you all you'd like to know, but you will have to repeat those questions a little less speedily."

"How does it work?" Tony's breath was ragged as he took a step closer to Thor.

"Once the spheres find a way into the body, they become a part of it and change its ways," Thor explained, obviously taken aback by the heat in Tony's voice. "The person's priority then is to create more beings like themselves. They can wait for the most fertile person for a certain amount of time - they are not known to rape - but even their patience wears thin as the urge grows stronger."

"So it's not about the other person themselves, it's about a willing body able to produce children," Tony murmured to himself. That didn't make sense. Tony wasn't fertile.

"Pray excuse me?" Thor said. "I did not hear you."

"It's nothing," Tony mumbled as realisation slowly dawned on Thor's face.

"Do you know of anyone," Thor asked, unusually tentative, "who has showed the signs?"

Tony took a deep quivering breath, hating himself for the display of weakness but unable to stop it.

"Yes. I do."

 

They took Steve away. The departure was a chaotic process. They explained everything - it was still Captain America who was concerned here - and Steve's eyes kept flickering from blue to white. Thor told them that was the Kamarti part getting fully to surface and Tony remembered all the times during sex when he had thought he had seen a flash of white.

Mostly, Steve was protesting loudly that he was perfectly alright, thank you very much, but for one minute he begged them to go quicker because he could feel the other side of him rising again.

Tony listened from the back, scarcely able to look at Steve at all. On the outside, he looked as he always did, absolutely unfazed. 

On the inside, he was breaking.

 

The next few weeks were a mess. Tony spent so much time in the SHIELD labs they felt almost as familiar as his own. Bruce and he had sat Thor down and asked him just about every question imaginable about the Kamarti and the spheres, but that wasn't enough. Not Bruce nor Tony were able to grasp what was going on in Steve's body.

They had tried it the old-fashioned way, taking away some of Steve's blood, even marrow samples, to see whether the newly produced cells were healthy. They weren't. They tried different types of radiation (in levels that couldn't hurt Steve permanently, of course), but it brought nothing. They tried various chemical supplements, tried to break down the spheres and do a chemical analysis, tried just about everything and Tony- Tony couldn't anymore.

He had never known his body was capable of feeling so strongly about someone. He hadn't even properly realised until Thor told them what happened and the SHIELD agents snatched Steve away, and now Tony had to watch Steve every day, his insides frozen solid except when they were cramping so much it brought tears to Tony's eyes, and he hated himself for not being able to help. For failing. Again.

And he hated himself even more, despised himself, even, for the small part of him that selfishly hoped they were never going to find the cure. Because this Steve felt for Tony, didn't he? He cared, even if it wasn't natural, he touched Tony lovingly and smiled when they woke up next to each other. The real Steve would never do that.

"Tony?" Bruce's tentative hand settled on Tony's shoulder, and he looked up to Bruce. He knew his eyes were glassy. 

He wasn't ashamed of it.

"Oh, Tony," Bruce whispered and pulled him up into an awkward but nonetheless firm and warm hug. Tony rested his forehead on Bruce's shoulder and willed himself to just breathe.

"I- I hate seeing him like- I hate that I-" Tony tried to explain but words deserted him.

"I know. And we will." Bruce patted him gently on the back before Tony straightened up. "We will do what it takes."

 

It took them five months. Five months of searching through books and parchments Thor was allowed to bring from Asgard, of producing thousands of chemical combinations, but they finally had a solid chance of having Steve back in all his captain glory.

It turned out that all they needed was to mix up the species' clean blood - uninfected human blood, in their case - with a certain delicate flower that grew in Asgard. Thor had warned them about the possible side-effects, though - the flower was apparently one of the strongest healing plants in all Asgard and meant for the Asgardians.

They had consulted each other, consulted Fury and Coulson, and just about anyone who had ever been digging in Norse mythology; they even tried to ask Steve. 

He told them he was completely fine, no need for magical medication.

Tony stood at the foot of the infirmary bed where Steve's unconscious body laid; the decision to sedate him for the procedure had been a non-negotiable condition from Fury. Apparently, he wasn't ready to spend a shitton of finances on a new SHIELD hospital wing and a furious Steve could very easily make that a necessity. His fingers twitching nervously, Tony watched as Bruce injected a syringe filled with pale blue liquid into the IV on Steve's arm.

Both Tony and Bruce held their breath and Tony was sure the people behind the glass did the same. He expected a blast of light, to hear angels singing, perhaps, but nothing happened. Glancing at Bruce, he found him staring at Steve with an exasperated, borderline desperate expression.

Tears were forcing themselves out of Tony's eyes and he couldn't stay in the room. Turning around, he started towards the door.

It failed. He failed. He should have-

"Tony!" Bruce whispered urgently and Tony snapped around.

A faint line of light was moving from Steve's feet up, like rising water. Tony stood there, watching perplexed as it travelled up, over Steve's thighs and belly, reaching his neck and sweeping over his face. Then the shine dimmed and above Steve's head, a single white sphere was pulsing, hovering in the air.

Tony gulped, stepped closer, and foolishly reached out to touch it, only to have his hand slapped away by Bruce. He watched as Bruce caught the drop in a vial and immediately placed it in a secure case that he snapped shut a second later.

Staring dumbly at the Steve's still unconscious body, Tony tried to feel happy, and he did, somewhat.

It was the idea of not having Steve's attention on him anymore that prevented him from joining the joyful exclamations that filled the air as the people who stood behind the glass filtered in, the thought of not being important to somebody in that way.

Did it make Tony a bad person?

 

Tony was moping but God lay impenetrable protection on all those who would dare try to tell him.

Bringing up a schematic for a new clean power source that could supply energy to half of New York, Tony blinked in confusion when the holo came up blurry.

"JARVIS, how am I supposed to work with this, come on, buddy, straighten it up."

"I'm sorry, sir, but there is nothing wrong with the projection if my data is correct." The tone of JARVIS's voice suggested he didn't doubt they were. "Perhaps it is time I reminded you that you have not left the workshop for over 83 hou-"

"No, thanks, it's definitely not that time." Tony dug up some eyedrops from a drawer and craned his head back.

The sullen silence was a perfect example of how much of his own head JARVIS had.

Tony had left the infirmary maybe a minute after Steve opened his eyes. He had stuck around only long enough to make sure Steve was talking and walking (and smiling, which left Tony feeling like his lungs had been incinerated) and then he made a beeline for the door, got into his car and hadn't stopped to think about anything until he was surrounded by the familiar homeliness of his workshop. He had started working and hadn't - except for a few occasional short naps - stopped since. From time to time people had attempted to reach him, but Tony initiated a complete lockdown that no one apart from Pepper and Rhodey could override.

And since neither had turned up yet...

Tony put the eye drops away and turned back to the now perfectly sharp projection.

 

Tiptoeing quietly up the stairs to the kitchen, Tony tried to remember when he started to feel obliged to behave like a burglar in his own home.

He turned a corner, faceplanted into somebody and looking up came face to face with amusedly smiling Steve. 

That. That's when.

Tony's heart did a triple somersault at the feeling of deja vu; it was almost like that time in his workshop when Steve had asked him out for dinner. Only that hadn't been Steve that time, really, had it?

"Hi," Tony croaked, stepping away to give himself a little breathing room.

"Hi yourself." Steve eyed him suspiciously and Tony shifted under the scrutiny. "What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"Well, no one has seen you for almost a week, so I assumed something must have happened if you decided to leave your little hidey-hole."

"Wasn't hiding," Tony mumbled. It sounded feeble even to his own ears. He sidestepped around Steve and carried on to the kitchen. For some Godforsaken reason, Steve decided to follow him, and Tony whined internally. Let's be honest, a midnight soul-to-soul talk with Steve was so far down Tony's list of priorities right now it probably wasn't even on it.

Yeah. It definitely didn't make the cut for this week. Or month. Possibly year.

Maybe ever?

Opening the fridge, Tony was met with a single low-fat yoghurt sitting in the precise middle, and closed it again. He wasn't exactly in a mood for one of Clint's pranks. The freezer provided a pizza pie or something, and Tony put it into the microwave before reluctantly turning to where Steve was perched on a bar stool.

The lights painted Steve with unnatural white and threw shadows over his face; he looked older, he looked tired, he looked ten times worse than usual, and still Tony stopped breathing for a second.

Steve inhaled and opened his mouth.

"I wanted to talk to y-"

"Do you remember?" Tony interrupted, surprised at his abrupt words. It wasn't his intention to ask.

Well, he wasn't conscious of wanting to ask that. Seemed like his traitorous subconsciousness got the better of him yet again. 

And now that it was out, Tony could feel a certain tension melting away, an itch he finally scratched. 

"Do I remember what?" Steve asked, watching Tony intently, like he was genuinely curious, not like he took the hint and knew what Tony was asking.

Tony wasn't sure what sort of answer he had expected, but it wasn't this. 

The microwave quietly hummed in the background as Tony braced his hands on the kitchen aisle. It took him a moment to gather himself and when he spoke, his voice was tight.

"Do you remember," Tony began, raising his head to look Steve in the eye, "that dinner you asked me to, the breakfast on the roof, the time we spent-" his voice hitched and he couldn't take it anymore, lowering his head for a second before he straightened up again, "-the time we spent _together_ , do you remember any of it?"

Steve's mouth fell open on the emphasis Tony had put on _together_ , staring dumbfounded at the man in front of him. At any other time, Tony would find it endearing, but his body felt like it was about to vibrate out of its skin, his hands were sweating against the hard surface of the kitchen aisle, and his legs were about to give out; it was probably the most un-Stark moment of his life and he had no idea how to deal with it.

"I- I-," Steve stuttered, eyes wide, "I thought it was just some despicable dream the Kamarti thing put into my head, a disgusting hallucination it made me see-"

The blood froze in Tony's veins, a loud ringing in his ears as his mind repeated Steve's words. Despicable. Disgusting. What was Tony thinking? Of course Steve wouldn't want him out of his own free will. Why would he? Tony was sarcastic and stubborn and a lot more than just a handful and Steve was probably after a little bit of calm and quiet, so naturally he wouldn't want a loud, self-absorbed, never-still maniac like Tony around. 

It was cold in the kitchen.

"-have to understand, I've never felt anything like it, you were so-"

Despicable. Disgusting. It fed some dark part of Tony that told him _but you knew it, you always knew it wouldn't work_ , before giggling in sickening joy. _You knew and I warned you and you still jumped in head first, didn't you? So reckless, so stupid, so useless-_

It was so, so cold.

"-it took over and I couldn't feel the way I did before, couldn't feel you-"

Tony inhaled slowly, trying to regain his composure and get his mind into order, before he tuned Steve's talking in again properly.

"-so worried I would never get out of it, but I did, thanks to Thor and Bruce and you." Steve had such an earnest look on his face, so much gratitude etched into his features, and Tony couldn't handle it.

Steve carried on. "The first thing I saw was you, too, you were standing by the bed and, and I knew it was all gone and I could finally tell you-"

Tony didn't want to hear it.

"Stop," Tony said. He was going into overdrive, Steve's words were pushing him into overdrive. 

"Just listen, I need to tell you-"

"Please don't," Tony interrupted again, his voice breaking. Steve stopped short, looking like the sentences might just burst out of him, like it physically hurt to keep them in.

The microwave pinged.

"I just want to say that all those times when we were together, I'm so-"

"Okay, yeah, no," Tony murmured, grabbing the food, and ran the Hell outta there. Steve was calling after him. Tony didn't stop walking.

 

A couple of days went past, a week, two weeks, and Tony still couldn't look Steve in the eye. Steve had attempted to approach him several times, but Tony simply wasn't having it.

They worked well enough in the field, watching each other's backs and keeping everyone as safe as possible, and since Tony ceased to be a sarcastic little shit towards Steve and actually listened to what Steve said, the Avengers operated more smoothly than ever before. Sometimes the fights lasted longer due to Tony's lack of adventurous and possibly self-threatening input, but they made a point of not calling him out on his quietness.

After each battle, Tony phoned the take-out restaurant, placed an order and paid for it.

He didn't stick around for the eating part.

 

Seeing Steve hurt. It hurt almost like the first time Tony had got properly zapped by electricity, an uncomfortable hot tingle that ran across his skin and made him feel like he was burning inside. He wanted to get rid of it, to pull his finger away from the circuit, but - just like with the actual electrical current - his hand was stuck to the wire. 

And for the first time in his life, he didn't know how to cut it.

 

"Metal man!" Thor exclaimed loudly, clapping Tony on the back and this time around, Tony didn't feel like his bones were about to shake apart from the strength; apparently, somebody had given Thor the human-bodies-are-easily-breakable talk. Again.

"Hey, big guy," Tony smiled faintly, closing the notebook that laid in his lap. After another long session in the workshop, he hadn't been able to focus properly on any computer screen, so he regressed to the old-school pen and paper. He had to admit it was kind of nice, feeling the smooth pages beneath his palm and hear the scratching of the pen. It was the fixing and re-writing that reminded him why he worked in digital.

"I have taken notice of how distanced you have grown since we have had our good Captain back," Thor began and Tony instantly knew the upcoming conversation was not going to be to his liking, but the determined look on Thor's face made it clear that Tony wouldn't be allowed to run away.

"I will not deny that I have more often than not opted for solitary spaces, yes." 

No matter how hard he tried, Tony wasn't able to snap out of whatever spell had been laid upon him (and no, he was pretty sure Loki had nothing to do with it). From time to time, he had managed to convince himself that his problem had nothing to do with Steve, but during every unoccupied moment, his brain reminded him what was holding him bound.

Thor sat down on the armchair opposite Tony.

"I wish to know why, if you would tell me. You are a friend to me, Tony Stark, and I want to help you if there is a way." 

Tony couldn't help but notice how therapist-session-like their current situation was. He, fiddling with his pen and notebook, Thor sat across, sunlight streaming through the windows and bookshelves covering the walls.

He also noticed that Thor called him by his real name instead of the usual 'Man of Iron' and 'metal man'. Which was probably why Tony didn't attempt outright deflection.

"I don't think there's much to tell," Tony said shortly, earning himself an encouraging look. Sighing, Tony cursed the powers of Thor's facial expressions. And carried on.

"I don't know if you remember, but after you showed up and told us about the Kamarti, we talked for a bit after Clint and Coulson left."

"I do recall that conversation," Thor said, "you seemed somewhat troubled."

Tony snorted. "That's a nice way to put it. Absolutely distraught and borderline desperate would be more suitable, I'd say."

"That is to be expected when one loses a friend as dear as Captain Rogers to the Kamarti curse."

"This is where you are not completely right." Tony sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You see, I didn't lose a friend, exactly."

"Are you suggesting you and the Captain are not comrades in fight and life?" Thor asked, confused. "I recall you not being especially fond of each other in the beginning, but to the best of my knowledge, you have overcome that."

"Try to push it the other way."

"The other way..." Thor's eyes widened slightly. "You and the Captain were lovers, then?"

Tony chuckled joylessly.

"I thought we were. But that was before you came to tell us about that alien superstuff. Steve was just... just involuntarily caught in an unwanted intimate web."

"Are you quite sure it was involuntary?" Thor asked.

"Positive. I can't take what he seemed to have done on his own volition seriously when I know what had made him like that."

"Had he been the first to approach you?"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean anything."

To Tony's great surprise, Thor was shaking his head.

"I see I have done you wrong, my friend," Thor said, looking at Tony with sad eyes. "I have not given you the whole picture of the Kamarti inner workings and I fear I have misled you. You see, the influenced person does not simply choose a random person to become his centre of affection."

"Yeah, they have to be 'fertile and ready to bear children', you said that," Tony scoffed. 

"Yes, that is true," Thor spoke urgently, "but it is not all. Haven't you wondered why had the Captain chosen you when you cannot bear children?"

Tony grimaced. "I thought about it. Probably just a system mistake."

"No." Thor was on the edge of his seat, looking at Tony earnestly. "The influenced do not choose people to care about randomly. They find a counterpart that will give offspring and be happy in raising a family, yes, but it also is someone the influenced has feelings for - the connection cannot work without a strong emotional bond that is already there. The Kamarti do not recognise genders and quite obviously missed that detail when preparing to take over the Earth. The curse pushed Steve to someone he had cared for and Steve picked regardless of gender."

Tony's brain was bit by bit processing what Thor had just said.

"So what you mean is," Tony said slowly, "Steve had cared for me before the Kamarti stuff got into him, and once it was there, that emotion pushed him into my direction because it meant I was a suitable subject?"

"Indeed," Thor smiled, "do you see it now? The Captain surely..."

But Tony wasn't listening.

It made sense. Steve had said it was hardly important that Tony was a man when it came to getting pregnant. The chemicals within him hadn't cared one bit about the lack of female reproductive organs in Tony's body.

And that night he and Steve had sat in the kitchen and Steve was trying to tell him something, was he trying to just tell Tony this? That everything they had together wasn't artificial and forced? But Steve had said... _despicable and disgusting_. Tony replayed the conversation. Could he have just misinterpreted Steve's words? Could it-

"Son of a bitch," Tony exhaled, jumping to his feet. He turned to Thor. "Thank you for the conversation, but I need to- I have to-"

Thor smiled.

"Go."

 

 

Tony's body was on fire, as was his mind. Rushing through the corridors, he aimed for Steve's room, but Steve wasn't there. After turning blindly around for almost a minute, rapidly going through Steve's go-to places, Tony remembered himself.

"JARVIS, where's Steve?"

"Captain Rogers has just returned from SHIELD. He is currently on the ground level, about to enter the elevator."

"Is he going to his room?"

A second of silence.

"Captain Rogers said that he was not going to, but if it's urgent, he will."

"Perfect. Could you tell him I'd appreciate it if he did?"

"I have passed on the message. Captain Rogers changed his final destination to his floor."

"Perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect," Tony muttered, pacing from one side of Steve's kitchen to the other, taking it in, distracting himself. The fridge was kind of far from the workspace. Speaking of which, there wasn't really that much space to work on. What if Steve wanted to bake three hundred cookies for the charity? What if he wanted to fulfil Thor's wish and roast a wild boar? Maybe Tony should give a call to the reconstruction guys-

"You really shouldn't. It's not like I use this place much, we all eat in the shared kitchen."

Tony whipped around after the sound of Steve's voice and there he was, gorgeous as ever, standing by the door with his weight put on one leg. Which meant he was standing there for some time. 

"I was talking out loud," Tony observed needlessly, staring at Steve, unable to say anything more. What was he going to say in the first place? He really should have thought this through before rushing in head first. The silence stretched until Steve finally gave up.

"Did you need something?" Steve prompted and Tony cringed at the caution in Steve's voice, like he was expecting something unpleasant. Tony supposed he couldn't really blame him; if their last conversation truly had been a misunderstanding and a misinterpretation of words, Steve probably thought Tony was a proper asshole.

He had quite surely thought that before, but now he had it certified.

"Uh," Tony managed, shifting from foot to foot. "I- came to apologise, I guess. Hang on, no, I came to clear something up. Then I'll maybe apologise."

The corner of Steve's mouth twitched and Tony took it as an encouragement. 

"See, I know that the last time we spoke wasn't exactly ideal-"

"That's an understatement," Steve remarked dryly. Maybe that twitch wasn't one of a smile.

"Listen, I know I wasn't-"

"No, you finally listen," Steve growled five inches from Tony's face and when did he get that close, Tony shall never know. "I tried to tell you several times-" Steve jabbed Tony into the chest with enough strength Tony worried he would break a rib "-I tried and you ran away."

"I know and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left, but you have to understand-"

"Do I?"

"Yes!" Tony yelled. "You said it was despicable! That being with me was a disgusting dream!"

Steve blinked at him, speechless.

"What was I supposed to take from that?" Tony continued, words coming to his mouth so fast it left him dizzy. "You were all nice and cuddly and cute and then suddenly you were gone, being treated for an alien infection, and after they let you out, the first thing you said to me was that it was a disgusting hallucination!"

"But that's not what I meant!" Steve shouted back, panic streaking his voice, and gripped tighter at Tony's arms. "I was referring to the mind control thing, the way I could sense somebody else's presence in my head, I was not implying that you- I'd never say that-" Steve's voice broke off and his arms fell off Tony, hanging limply at Steve's sides as he took a step back, putting more space between them.

"I would never say something like that," Steve whispered, looking at Tony with feverishly bright blue eyes, "not to you. I- Tony, I care about you. A lot. I thought you knew it."

Tony's brain short-circuited and he wanted to scream so many things at Steve, like how he could have supposed Tony knew, how he could have thought Tony would take his alien-induced behaviour seriously, and so much more, but all that came out was a breathless _oh_ and then he was standing on his tiptoes, pressing his lips on Steve's.

Steve was surprised, if the stiffness of his muscles was anything to go by, but he managed to shake it off quite quickly, wrapping one arm around Tony's waist to pull him closer. The palm of the other slid along Tony's neck, thumb stroking gently below Tony's ear, fingernails digging now and then into the nape of Tony's neck, making Tony moan.

"You're an idiot," Steve whispered, his fingers painting swirls on Tony's hip.

"Well, right back atcha," Tony mumbled into the kiss.

There was such a striking difference between the way Steve had kissed before, completely in control, sure of himself, and the current tentativeness with which his mouth moved in tandem with Tony's, as if it was a first. It was adorable. Speaking of which, Steve was cute. And, apparently, at Tony's full disposal in the future. Tony smiled a little into the kiss, just a twitch of the corners of his mouth, but Steve withdrew, watching Tony with rapt attention.

"What?"

"What?" Tony grinned, giddiness spreading through him like wildfire. He wasn't sure if he had ever felt this happy - the day he finally finished JARVIS came close, or the weekend he and Pepper spent touristing in Prague - but nothing had ever been quite this... incandescent. So bright and clear and comforting.

Tony sounded as cheesy as a cheap rom-com and he was proud of it, thank you very much.

"You're smiling." Steve's brow was furrowed like it was a bad a thing.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No," Steve said, stepping back in to lay his palms on Tony's hips. "I'd just like to know why, so I can make sure it happens more often."

"You're a sap." Tony flicked at Steve's chest. 

"So I've been told," Steve smiled fondly before his features morphed into something more serious. "Are we- are we good?"

"Yeah," Tony said, "I think we are."

"So, maybe you'd like to go out for a dinner one more time?" Steve's eyes were so unsure as he asked, and Tony could understand why, but at the same time, he really couldn't.

"Only if you go as you-"

The shrill scream of an emergency alarm rang through the tower and Tony cringed at the sound. He should get it to play some song instead. Like Stayin' Alive or something. _Highway To Hell_ , maybe?

"JARVIS, what's happening?"

"An extraterrestrial force near Lima, sir."

"Immediately?"

"The Peruvian president would greatly appreciate it."

"Well, seems like I'll need a raincheck on that one," Steve sighed. "Let's suit up."

"If you get yourself into another alien malady, I'm done, just so you know," Tony teased as they reached the elevator.

Lightning quick, Steve grabbed Tony and pressed him against the wall.

"As if you could," Steve whispered, bringing their foreheads together and placing a single chaste kiss on Tony's lips before he straightened up, leaving startled Tony staring at him with wide eyes. 

Tony would like to say that it only took him a moment to get his wits back together but that would be a lie. Quite honestly, Tony's not so sure he ever got it back together properly after that day. And when he sometimes thinks he's getting close to achieving it, Steve is here to remind him that you don't need all your brains in one place all the time to be happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Dub-Con Tag - it's there because Steve gets infected with alien genes that change his hormonal production and meddle with his brain and physical needs. (Does that count as dub-con?)(I think it does.)  
> Mpreg - nobody gets pregnant, no alien babies. Sorry not sorry?
> 
> If I forgot a tag, let me know? 
> 
> Thank you for reading xx
> 
> [tumblr](http://www.larryhaylik.tumblr.com) & [the haremoon project (Harry Potter stuff)](http://www.fifthhogwarts.wordpress.com)


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